Staff Editor

(Barbados Nation) Former Cabinet minister Gline Clarke says that black contractors are suffering in this country and the major contracts from the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government are going  to “a certain class of people”.

(Trinidad Express) The Government’s parliamentary website, www.ttparliament.org, was taken offline yesterday after a computer software hacker apparently breached the security codes of the site and left a mischievous message announcing the security break.

SANFORD, Fla., (Reuters) – George Zimmerman, the former neighbourhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, was released early on Monday from a Florida county jail on $150,000 bail.

The St Martin News Network today said that a Guyanese couple died by murder/suicide on the Caribbean island of St Maarten.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced it will be sending missions to four Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, as the next step in an ongoing effort to abolish criminal defamation laws in the region.

A police Lance Corporal is under close arrest for allegedly sodomising a boy, acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell today confirmed.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb is conscious and able to speak to his wife and family after waking from a coma caused by a combination of illnesses that nearly cost him his life, his doctors said today.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Neil Diamond has married his manager Katie McNeil in front of family and close friends in Los Angeles, People magazine said today.

PARIS,  (Reuters) – Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France’s presidential race wide open today by scoring nearly 20 percent in the first round – votes that may determine a runoff between Socialist favourite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The police say they are investigating a fatal accident that occurred at about 0020h today on the Grove Public Road, EBD, and which resulted in the death of motorcyclist Rodwell Mercurius, 35 years of Friendship, EBD.

The police say they are conducting investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was found yesterday at Puruni, Mazaruni with stab and chop wounds.

(Trinidad Guardian) A forensic audit into the University of T&T (UTT) by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has unearthed a multimillion-dollar feeding frenzy among its staff and students at the expense of taxpayers.

(Jamaica Observer) A trial involving some of Jamaica’s most prominent politicians and businessmen shaping up in a Florida court is likely to be sensational and could impact the way people use e-mails.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Government fears that a bustling business may develop selling new widescreen television sets with obsolete analogue technology dumped from developed digitised markets for cheap sale in Jamaica.

MONTE CARLO,  (Reuters) – World number two Rafael Nadal thrashed top seed Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-1 in the Monte Carlo Masters final to win the claycourt title for an eighth consecutive time.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica’s public-health sector is described as ailing and creaking with several concerns about the level of resources provided by the Government, but it appears that the system is not so bad after all.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – International mediator Kofi Annan said on Sunday that the U.N.

(Barbados Nation) Jamaican lawyers are hoping the Shanique Myrie case against the Barbados Government could bring an end to discriminatory practices throughout the Caribbean.

(Trinidad Express) Attorneys representing CCN TV6’s Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne yesterday wrote to Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs, claiming their client’s arrest and continued detention was illegal.

(Trinidad Express) The Ministry of Energy will on Monday launch a deep-water competitive bidding round for oil and gas exploration in six blocks off the coast of Trinidad.